Fenton Excursion

Doug I know this is not the one you were looking for but maybe an interesting trip another weekend.
The details come from a Geocache site and are courtesy of NTSTROM.


This cache is for the more adventurous cachers. It is located in a remote part of the Shoal Bay Coastal Reserve. To reach the cache the use of a 4WD is required. The cache is located about 3.7 km from Gunn Point Rd, as the crow flys, however the 4WD track into the site is about 7.8 km long. The track will take you directly to the site. I would not recommend walking into the site unless you are an experienced bush walker/hiker. Difficulties with access may be experienced during the wet season.

On the 13th of June 1942, at about 12:00 pm, the RAAF RDF station at Dripstone detected a large Japanese airborne formation of 27 bombers and 45 Zero fighter escorts. The formation was approaching Melville Island from the northwest.

A USAAF standing patrol consisting of 8 P40E Kittyhawks reached the Japanese formation as it was overhead RAAF Darwin. The Zeros, who outnumbered the Kittyhawks, engaged the patol.

As a result of the encounter one of the Kittyhawks, piloted by 2nd LT Pierre Alford, was shot down by a Zero over Gunn Point. Alford succesfully bailed out and landed near Gunn Point while his aircraft crashed at the cache location.

The wreckage of the Kittyhawk aircraft still remains today at this virtually unknown and unmarked location.

You can find more detail including access tracks by going to the following link http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?wp=GC14C6D.
Best of luck.
M.

Doug,new here,just interested in your visit to Fenton,I thought that the owner had locks on all gates and does heli patrols over his land to prevent unauthorized visitors or has this now changed.